Info For Obstetrics and Gynecology Referrals

UI Women's Health emphasizes the importance of health and well–being for women in every stage of life. We offer seamless access to specialists, diagnostic testing, treatment and services. The leading causes of death in women are not obstetrical and gynecologic; they are heart disease and cancer, so creating a collaborative relationship with other specialties is essential for successful treatments.

Expert Gynecologic Oncology Services Enhance Outcomes

Providing
comprehensive care for women with gynecologic cancers means
communicating effectively with their referring doctors. We place a high
priority on working with you to facilitate the best possible outcomes
for your patients.

Our gynecologic oncology physicians work
with you to improve prospects for women with gynecologic malignancies.
Our clinicians are highly experienced in robotic, laparoscopic, and open
surgical procedures and base their approach on individual
considerations for each case.

Comprehensive surgical de-bulking of
ovarian cancer is key to a patient’s survival from this disease. We
stage and remove as much of the disease as possible using open surgical
procedures. For endometrial cancer, we use open or robot-assisted
laparoscopic techniques to stage and treat the malignancy.

Clinical trials of new cancer drugs, or
of new uses for existing drugs, may benefit your patients. The UI is a
longstanding participant in the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), an
international consortium of clinicians and researchers dedicated to
improving the care of women with gynecologic cancer. In fact, we are one
of the GOG’s top sites for enrolling patients in trials. Thus, we can
offer women access to new therapies that are not widely available.

The UI is currently testing PEGylated
irinotecan as an alternative treatment for platinum-resistant cancers.
For information, e-mail study coordinator Sharon Stockman or call 319-356-2015.

Research

The Women's Reproductive
Health Research Career Development Center was awarded five–year, $2.2
million grant from the NIH. The Center is part of a national network of
mentored career development programs for physician scientists and junior
faculty who are committed to an independent research career in women's
reproductive health.

We are a leader in Women's Health
Initiative (WHI) trials including the Study of Women Across the Nation
(SWAN), which is an observational study of the menopause transition. The
goal of SWAN's research is to help scientists, health care providers
and women learn how mid–life experiences affect health and quality of
life during aging. The study is co–sponsored by the National Institute
on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research on Women's
Health, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine.

Our Center for Advanced Reproductive Care
has done extensive research on pregnancy rates when a single embryo
transfer protocol is a mandatory practice. This practice has reduced the
number of multiples without sacrificing pregnancy rates.

Our research interests include:

Urogynecology Research

Painful Bladder Condition

Research Focus: IVF Kids' Academic Achievement

Children conceived through in vitro
fertilization perform slightly better than their peers on standardized
tests, UI research shows. A study led by Dr. Bradley Van Voorhis,
director of the UI Center for Advanced Reproductive Care, compared test
scores of children in grades 3 to 12. The data showed no difference
between IVF children based on the type of in vitro fertilization. "Our
findings are reassuring for clinicians and patients, as they suggest
that being conceived through IVF does not have any detrimental effects
on a child's intelligence or cognitive development," Dr. Van Voorhis
said. The study was published in the journal Human Reproduction.

U.S.News & World Report Rankings

U.S.News & World Report has ranked gynecology services at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as 14th in the nation in its annual survey of best hospitals.

We offer an extraordinary depth of clinical expertise in areas ranging from pregnancy and birth, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, and urogynecology and reconstructive surgery to breast health—including reconstructive breast surgery, wellness and counseling, and ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar oncology.

UI Women's Health (Services)

Our maternal fetal medicine experts provide comprehensive prenatal care to women with high-risk pregnancies. The Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Unit was among the first 30 in the country to receive accreditation. The Neonatal Level 3C Intensive Care Unit has among the best outcome rates supported by data collected by the Vermont Oxford Network.

We are home to the Iowa Statewide Perinatal program which has been in in operation for more than 36 years.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the LUMA Cervical Imaging System for use in combination with routine cervical exams to detect precancerous disease. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is one of five centers that will install LUMA as part of a nationwide clinical study to determine the effectiveness of the system coupled with existing methods.

Reproductive Endocrinology

The Center for Advanced Reproductive Care brings together board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, urologists, specialized nurses, embryologists, and andrologists to offer a full range of infertility treatment options.

Our in vitro fertilization program is a national leader in providing single-embryo transfers to women who meet the criteria for this innovative procedure. Single pregnancies are safer for mothers and babies and more likely to result in full-term deliveries. Our success rate combining transfer of single fresh and frozen embryos exceeds 80 percent.

We also offer fertility preservation for men and women who face an illness or treatment that may cause infertility. Services include freezing semen, eggs, and embryos. Patients who have benefited include individuals with cancer requiring radiation treatment, women with ovarian disease requiring surgery, and women at risk for premature ovarian failure.

Resources for Providers

The UI Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has launched Proceedings in Obstetrics and Gynecology, an open-access peer-reviewed journal. The journal covers all aspects of reproductive health and includes original research, case reports, and management protocols. Proceedings are available online. A link on the journal's web site allows readers to submit articles for consideration.